Water
by emmals16
Summary: The sound of that small water drop just kept echoing in that bathroom.


**Hey, guys! This is my first TMNT story, so if it seems horrible, y'know why. Random idea. Random story. Randomness. Don't know why, but I'm glad I did this. Might write more from this fandom in the future now that I have a base for myself. Any who. I hope it's not completely horrid.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(Disclaimer: Don't even know why we have to put this because it's pretty obvious I don't own this franchise)**

He wasn't exactly sure why his mind wandered during those hours he spent sitting on that stool. The sound of dripping water would always quell his depressed mind and force him to think of random things. Things from the past.

Leo was always quiet. What did he really expect, though? His older brother would lay there day in and day out; not saying a word. Of course, Raph would be as stubborn as usual, and think that maybe, just maybe, Leo could hear him. He'd tell him stories. Tell him of Donnie and Mikey's tasks at the farm house. Despite such a heavy weight being on everyone's shoulders, they seemed to be fairing well enough. There was always something to tell, and since Leo never really was visited by Donnie and Mikey as much as he was Raph, the sai wielder figured he'd like to hear about them more.

Raph would hear his other two brother's somewhere. Be it outside, or in the house where April and Casey often dwelled, too. He rarely spoke to them during these times. Only if they would squeak that bathroom door open and ask him a question did he do so.

Donnie would come in every once in awhile while Raph was there. He'd check Leo over quickly, change the water in the tub, and then tenderly rub a hand across his older brother's cheek before leaving once more. Raph would barely move a muscle when Don came in, nor did he when any of the others visited on his time.

It felt . . . strange. Everyone coming in and saying something. Doing something. Being alive in some way while Leo would only rarely mumble or twitch in his unending sleep. Still, Raph became his normal self when he left that bathroom. Standing shakily from the stool, stretching out his cramping limbs, and stride for the door with a load that felt ever heavier on his shoulders. With a final glance, and a forceful shove forward, Raph would leave the room. Leave him alone.

When Raph was sitting on that stool, however, his mind did the wandering.

For example: water.

Raph remembered when he, Leo, Mikey, and Donnie were all little. Maybe five? Seven? He really couldn't remember that much, but still. They would often sneak out at night to explore the sewers under New York. Leo was always the one to remind them that "it could be dangerous". Of course he was. Leo be Leo.

Raph found it ironic that Leo, for being such a safety addict, such a Lame-onardo, was actually the first one to think of doing such a thing. That was when Leo didn't think about his responsibility or training as he does now. When he was a goofball with a sense of rebellious adventure. He was, in a strange sort of way, like Raph.

This was before the four of them had acquired their weapons from Master Splinter. Long before training was even a thing in their normal routine, and so Raph, Leo, Donnie, and Mikey had all found ways to fill their time. Usually it was something bland. Something like Donnie challenging Raph to a game of chess, and then getting whiny when Raph shoved the board off the table after losing.

That was all until one day. It was later in the night. Sometime after midnight, and all of them were supposed to be asleep. As per Master Splinter's orders. Raph wasn't tired, though. And after he was sure Splinter was asleep himself, he would sneak out to their main room and turn the T.V. on, being sure the volume was on mute. Master Splinter could hear anything higher. Especially in the dead of night.

Raph was surprised, though. He had tip-toed his way passed every room. Being sure not to wake any of his brothers. He made it all the way to the supporting pillars when he saw something move. Something that was unmistakably green.

Raph sighed to himself, believing it to be Mikey trying to find some food in the fridge. But, that didn't make since. The kitchen was in the complete opposite direction. Curiously, Raph followed the figure as it made it's way out of the main room, and into the tunnels.

Raph wasn't afraid of being caught, but he knew for sure that both Donnie and Mikey were too frightened of the pitch blackness that was the sewers of New York to venture this far away from home.

Leo on the other hand . . .

Raph squinted in the darkness, unsure of himself. Unsure of his thoughts.

Then they came upon a manhole. The streetlights from above shone down through the darkness that it seemed more like a beacon than anything. The figure waltzed up to the ray of light, and that was when Raph saw his face.

Leo. Staring up through the beacon, hand settling onto the metal ladder directly next to him for no other reason than to hold it. His deep blue eyes sparkled, and Raph couldn't help but be amazed that this was Leo. Sneaking off in the dead of night. Sure, Raph had thought about doing so, but this was actually the first time he'd done so.

This was the first time he'd done so.

A frightened knot built in his throat. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know where he was. Or how to get home.

A sound must have escaped him, because Leo suddenly turned his head sharply, already taking lessons from splinter to enhance his senses. His eyes locked onto Raph's, and that was when something gave way under the younger's foot. It was too dark to know what was around them, but Raph suddenly knew he was falling. His foot bent at an odd angle, twisting painfully due to the loss of balance, and he went tumbling down towards the abyss below.

"Raph?!"

"Raphie!"

Cold suddenly encased him. Wet. Water, he realized. These were the sewers after all, and Raph knew that this water definitely wasn't the greatest kind to be in. Still, he was slightly glad to have fallen in this than to the cold, hard, concrete of a lower platform.

Raph swam upward. Difficult, because despite them being turtles, the fours brother's had neglected trying to practice their natural talent. He was . . . rusty.

His head burst from the surface just in time to hear another splash close by, but he wasn't able to think fully on that because the tide took him back under. The flowing water he was in must've been meant to move to another section of the sewers, forcing the water to move quicker than it normally did.

Raph swam again, head escaping into the air. A red light to help construction workers and other types of human's that worked in the sewers every once and awhile lit up a small area. It was long enough so that Raph saw what seemed to be a waterfall . . . ?

There were no waterfalls in the sewers! Right?!

"Leo!" he yelled randomly, not knowing what else to do. He saw no holds on the sides of the walls, and the water was forcing him to go to fast.

But, that was when he felt a small hand wrap around his forearm. He stopped abruptly in his pursuit for the waterfall. The stream forcing passed him, making his legs fan out, but the hold on his arm keeping him from advancing. He craned his neck around to see Leo's focused gaze flicking back and forth. He was holding onto a oddly placed brick, and it was keeping them in place, but Raph knew it wouldn't last.

"You need to get up to that metal up there!" Leo yelled, motioning with his head for the metal the light was on, "Once you're up there, pull me up!"

Raph gave Leo a startled look, "How am I supposed to reach that?!"

Without another word, Leo let go of the brick and dived downwards. Raph began to panic after that, because they were moving again without Leo's hold on the brick, but then to hands pressed onto the bottoms of his feet, pushing him upward, completely out of the water. Immediately understanding, Raph grabbed hold of the hot bulb of the red light. He hissed squeakily, taking to holding onto another piece of metal there.

When he was confident that he had a good hold, he pulled with all his might until he wrapped his legs around a metal bar, hanging upside with his hands reaching for his older brother. Leo's head just burst from the water when the tide began taking him again.

With some sort of weak leap, and a short moment of hesitation, Leo reached for Raph's hand, taking hold and wrapping his other hand tightly around it.

The rest of it was pretty simple. Raph was already stronger than his brothers, so he lifted Leo out of the water and they were soon safely on the concrete they had been on originally, street light flickering, but still lighting up the wide space.

The two of them were breathing hard, Raph sitting on the concrete floor. Leo was standing, looking thoughtfully at his brother.

Leo was different after that. His responsible attitude changed, and he stopped being so open to things. After about a hundred apologies and a piggie back ride home, because Raph had twisted his ankle on his fall, Leo told Raph to go to sleep and went to do the same.

He explained everything to Splinter the next day, much to Raph's distaste.

A soft sigh brought Raph back, his head slowly looking upward to where Leo was. Nothing. His older brother was still completely out. Eyes shut tight, face tugged into a neutral expression.

Though, Leo had been stirring a lot more lately.

No, Raph chided himself, he shouldn't get his hopes up. With a defeated sigh, Raph settled his head back into his hand.

It seemed whenever anyone in their family went off by themselves something bad happened. And now, Raph looked up again when he heard the blop of a water drop, the water was even reminding him of bad memories.

Still Raph didn't leave his brother's side, and after a number of minutes later, after he heard a show start down in the living room and the excited voice of Mikey, he heard something else. Something different.

A low, rumbly, almost unfamiliar sound that seemed so loud in the normally completely quiet bathroom. Raph sluggishly looked up, sure if it was just another one of Leo's many empty noises.

But, green met a sleepy blue. Raph's hand fell to the side of the stool, and in a clumsy act of complete and utter ecstatic surprise, Raph tumbled forward, stool being kicked somewhere over there, and he leaned over the side of the tub.

"Leo?"

It had to be an illusion, right? Three long months, and this couldn't be real. Right?

The blue blinked slowly, studying the face of his brother. After a minute, Leo smiled warmly, and that was all Raph needed. His face broke into the biggest smile he'd had for the past three months (or maybe ever) and twisting away towards the door, he yelled as loud as he could:

"Guys! Guys, get up here!"


End file.
